1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to bird figures for use as lawn ornaments and the like and is particularly directed to bird figures having movable wings which are wind-actuated to provide somewhat life-like action.
2. Prior Art
It has long been popular to provide figures of birds and other animals as lawn ornaments and the like. Moreover, it is common to provide lawn ornaments in figures, such as windmills, birds, gnomes, etc. having vanes, wings or arms which are wind-actuated to rotate about an axis generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the vane, wing or arm to create motions which revolve in large circular patterns to provide animation for the figures. It is also popular to provide bird figures having wings which flap, due to various mechanisms, to provide animation. However, while such circular revolving and flapping wing motions are satisfactory in providing animation for many birds, especially large birds, such as geese, such motions do not provide appropriate animation simulation for hummingbirds. Because the beat rate of hummingbird wings is too fast for human observation, the wings of real hummingbirds generally appear as a blur and the revolving or flapping motions of prior art lawn figure birds provide inadequate simulations of this motion. A search in the United States Patent Office has revealed the following:
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. No. INVENTOR ISSUED ______________________________________ 2,217,111 A. Gould Oct. 8, 1940 334,812 F. Shaw Jan. 26, 1886 450,495 A. Pugsley Apr. 14, 1891 1,727,700 A. P. Dickson Sep. 10, 1929 ______________________________________
Each of these references is subject to the limitations discussed above. Thus, none of the prior art bird figures have been entirely satisfactory